During the transformation from Europe to American colonies, the architecture went through four overlapping stages, which in each stage the design increasingly complex and sturdier styles( purvis 275). The similest style came when the colonist arrivied to this continent, which were primitive dwelling. For example places like caves and houses made into the river banks. In this style of house there were usually three walls made of the cave or river bank and the front wall made with choped logs. This purcedure of using primitive dwelling was still pratice in Europe. According to Edmand Plowden the colonist improved themselves by moving in to small cottages.
"Cottages were used as replacement homes. This constituted for the second stage in the development of early american architecture. Puncheon houses and primitive shelters gave way to humble, framed structures of sawed wood or called half- timbered houses. The name was given to the houses because the diangonal braced framework could be seen in between wall, which was made of thick mud"(Purvis 276). These cottages were being used in rural of most countries that the colonist came from during this time. Cottages where more comfortable and sturier that the primitive dwelling.
The transition to the third stage of colonial america's architecture evolution developed once the first generation of settlers found themselves able to afford construction of fully carpender, framed building with water proof foundations(Purvis 276). These houses that were constructed during this stage had only two rooms, Hearhth and Parlor. The Hearth (where the chimeny was located) was where the families cooked and selpt for warmth. Then log cabins came into play with colonial house rights modified european building styles, but remained essentially conservative in thier choiceof structural designs, materials,and techniques.
The american log cabin pedigree stretches back to Sweden, where the common form of shelter, especially in swedish governed Finland. The original cabin resemble american folk dwellings. The cabins were about eighteen by sixteen feet with one ground floor, which grew into two- storied cabins. From the log cabin there were stone- ended houses, in which some were two- story and were standard English dwellings. Stone- ended houses had a long exterior chimeny that covered part or all of one wall.
Evoling from standard stone-ended houses, came Cape cod houses, fro cape cod houses there were three different sizes, half- cape cod , 3/4 cape cod, and full cape cod houses, which in present day is known as gable roof houses. Grand houses came after the cape cod houses, which look like plantation houses and were the dwelling of governors and acting state leaders.
The development of american architecture came long after the colonist came to the continent of present day North America. The architecture has grown away from european influence to an union in America.